


Meet the Hinatas

by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Family Drama, Holding Hands, M/M, accidental nut shot, awkward discussions, kissing idiots, mentions of past relationships - Freeform, mentions of porn, sleepover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3691842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor/pseuds/Karasuno%20Volleygays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kageyama meets the members of Hinata’s family and begins to understand his weird, energetic friend a little bit more each time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 30 Day Kagehina Challenge Day 5: Kageyama meets Natsu. I’ve left this as Incomplete because I would like to continue this tomorrow with the next prompt. And, as always, thanks go out to mysecretfanmoments for the excellent challenge.

Kageyama stands at the nameplate on the front gate and stares down the length of the cobblestone walk at the front door. Flowers he can’t name line the path, while smiling porcelain gnomes peek through the stems. Overall, it looks like a friendly place for anyone to call upon, yet for such a small building, it looms in front of Kageyama larger than life.

He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous — it’s only Hinata’s house — but _it’s Hinata’s house_.

The idea of running away as fast as he can and telling Hinata later that something came up occurs to Kageyama more than once, but before he can execute, the door flies open and Hinata barrels outside. “Kageyama! Come inside, stupid!”

“You’re stupid!” Kageyama blurts automatically as Hinata drags him towards the house. “Let go of me, dumbass.”

Hinata merely scoffs and says, “The whole point of staying over at someone’s house is to actually go into the house, dummy.”

It’s too late to turn back now, Kageyama thinks. Hinata has already spotted him and swooped in for the kill. He now only has the option of plowing through this ridiculous sleepover and trying to minimize the psychological damage one might receive by prolonged exposure to Hinata.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Kageyama calls at the door, where he is met by two new, smiling faces.

Hinata’s mother grins at him. “Kageyama-kun, it’s very nice to meet you. Shouyou talks about you a lot.”

Kageyama bows to her and says, “Thank you for having me over, Hinata-san.”

After the usual niceties, Kageyama almost feels like he can go through with this, but he no sooner has that thought when a pair of tiny arms clamp around his legs and a small female clone of Hinata beams up at him and squeaks, “You’re really tall.”

Staring at this miniature person, Kageyama realizes he had forgotten that Hinata had a sister and that he can’t remember her name at all. How is he supposed to talk to her? As if she’s an imbecile like her brother? Slowly, with small words?

Instead, he numbly says, “I am.”

She smiles at him again, the gaps in her teeth only mildly deterring the wattage of her grin. “Can I sit on your shoulders?”

“Wah!” Kageyama croaks.

Hinata waves his arms. “You can’t just go around asking for piggyback rides, Natsu!”

“Why not?” Natsu fires back, her hands balling up into fists on her hips. “If he tosses the ball to you, then I should get a piggyback ride.”

“That’s not how it works!”

Hinata’s mother chuckles and ruffles both Hinata’s and Natsu’s hair. “You two are so precious. Now, go set up for dinner.” They both nod and race to the kitchen, and she shouts after them without even looking, “And no running!”

She waves off the grumble that comes from the kitchen and rolls her eyes. “Sorry about that, Kageyama-kun. Both of them have this weird preoccupation with being tall. Feel free to say no if she asks you again.”

“Oh,” Kageyama mumbles. “It’s, um, okay. I’m just not used to kids.”

Hinata-san raises a brow. “No brothers or sisters?” When Kageyama shakes his head, she frowns. “A shame. It must get lonely.”

_Yes, it does_ , he thinks before brushing the thought aside. He shouldn’t be ungrateful to his parents for working hard so he can live in a good home with everything he needs. But as he looks around the crowded little genkan of the Hinata home, Kageyama can’t help but notice the shoes flung haphazardly along the step and the jackets slung over the small table next to the door. These aren’t signs of bad housekeeping; they are signs of life.

His own genkan often only has one pair of shoes and is never messy at all.

Kageyama shakes off this thought and nods to Hinata-san, who gestures behind her. “Right this way, Kageyama-kun. We’ll get right into dinner so you boys can go off and do your secret teenager stuff.”

Though he has no idea what that means, Kageyama blushes at her comment as he follows behind her.

Dinner at the Hinata house is a weird affair. The kids eat like heathens, Hinata-san scolds, and they continue to eat like heathens. She sighs. They wearily comply before delving back into their heathen ways. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Inversely, Kageyama tries to use his best table manners, which have begun to deteriorate the more he eats by himself. That, he can handle. It’s the chatter that spooks him the most. Hinata blathers about volleyball practice, and Natsu talks at the same time about her day at school. In an effort to separate the two streams of thought, Kageyama doesn’t hear either and stares into space when he realizes that someone has asked him a question.

“Kageyamaaaaaa,” Hinata wheedles. “What’s your favorite food?”

All the eyes at the table turn to him as he colors. “Um, I, uh . . . pork curry?”

“Did ya forget, Grumpy Nii-chan?” Natsu chimes.

“Shut up, Natsu!” Hinata hisses before they launch into another marathon round of bickering that Kageyama can’t be bothered to try deciphering this time around.

Dinner ends mercifully soon after this. Hinata-san looks at Hinata and Natsu and says, “Please clear the table and finish washing up.”

Hinata groans but slinks off to comply, but Natsu crosses her arms and shakes her head, a pout firmly mounted on her face. “Don’t wanna.”

Hinata-san looks ready to scold her, but a year of wrangling Hinata has prepared Kageyama for this moment. “Natsu-chan, you wouldn’t want your brother to have all the fun, would you?”

Natsu wrinkles her nose. “Dishes aren’t fun.”

“No, but piggyback rides are.” Her eyes widen. “If you do what your mother asks you to do without complaint, I will give you one piggyback ride. If you don’t —” He crosses his arms sternly and scowls. “— I will never offer you one again.”

“OSSU!” she shrieks as she launches out of her chair and into the kitchen.

Hinata-san giggles. “You didn’t have to do that, Kageyama-kun. She would’ve gone eventually.”

“She’s just like him. She has to see the advantage of what she’s doing, or she pays it no mind.”

Nodding, Hinata-san answered, “Like Shouyou and schoolwork. It didn’t matter to him until it almost kept him from training camp. Now he never misses his homework.”

“Exactly.”

She regards him closely, top teeth worrying her bottom lip so much like Hinata does, until she says, “You know, I remember hearing about you after that tournament in middle school, so when Shouyou said you were on the same team, I was worried.”

Kageyama’s face drains of color as he looks down. “I was different. There was some stuff going on at home, and I had trouble with my teammates. Karasuno straightened me out, and Hinata makes sure to tell me when I’m getting bad again.”

“Shouyou is good like that,” she agrees. “A lot like his father. He trusts easily and wants to reach out to everyone.”

Kageyama sighs and doesn’t respond. He doesn’t have the life experience to know how to deal with his only friend’s parent telling him that she basically didn’t want her child mixed up with a troubled boy. “I’m sorry, Hinata-san,” he whispers finally. “He deserves better friends, like Glasses-kun from the basketball team who he eats lunch with sometimes.”

Hinata-san shakes her head vehemently. “No, Kageyama-kun, you don’t understand what I mean.” When Kageyama looks at her questioningly, she huffs. “What I mean is that Shouyou has a lot of energy to give, and I’m glad to see it’s being put to good use. You give him volleyball, which he didn’t have in junior high, and he gives you something you need, too.”

“Oh,” Kageyama replies, his mouth hanging open. No one has ever said something like that to him before. Not only does he not know what to say, he isn’t even sure he knows what it really means. But he takes it the only way he can — with gratitude.

He stands and bows. “Thank you for dinner, Hinata-san. May I be excused?”

“Of course,” she answers with a kind smile.

Kageyama goes into the kitchen, where Hinata is finishing putting away dishes that Natsu is drying. She nearly drops a plate when she spots Kageyama. “Grumpy nii-chan!” She hops off the step-stool and grabs onto his legs. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

A small, crooked smile lurches across Kageyama’s face as he squats and says, “Yeah. Let’s go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama gets to know Hinata a little better. Maybe a little too well. And Hinata learns a thing or two about Kageyama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 30 Day Kagehina Challenge Day 7: can we stay like this for a while?

Kageyama slumps against Hinata’s bed with a groan. “I can’t feel my back.”

“Don’t be such a wimp, Kageyama,” Hinata teases. “Natsu only weighs about fifteen kilos. It’s like complaining your volleyball bag is too heavy.”

Glowering, Kageyama punches Hinata in the shoulder. “Why would my volleyball bag weigh fifteen kilos? They’re kneepads, not bricks. Dumbass.”

Hinata ignores the jibe and pulls a box from beneath his bed. “Wanna check out some mangas?”

“Got any Diamond No Ace?” Kageyama asks, not really interested save for the one manga he reads with any regularity.

“Sorry, I mostly have Weekly Shonen Jump.” Hinata’s eyes brighten. “There’s a volleyball manga in there, though!”

Kageyama’s attention is drawn instantly. Hinata doesn’t even need to ask if he wants to read, instead, digging through the box for a particular issue. He hands it to Kageyama. “This is the first issue.”

As Kageyama begins to read, he almost tunes out the rest of the room. The one thing that keeps him from dropping out of reality is that Hinata has leaned against his arm, resting his head on Kageyama’s shoulder while flipping through his own manga. The admittedly good opening to the storyline battles for dominance over his attention span with the warm tingle where Hinata’s cheek rests on his shoulder.

As much as he hates to admit it, Hinata is winning.

It’s difficult to look away from the play of expressions on Hinata’s face as he reacts to the story. The brightness brought on by successes, the worried lower lip of anticipation, the closed eyes from outright nervousness. Kageyama doesn’t know how someone can feel so keenly for fictional characters, but maybe it’s just something uniquely Hinata — caring about the important things in his life with unrelenting ferocity.

Kageyama wonders if Hinata would still care about _him_ if they did not share their love of volleyball, and he finds that he doesn’t like the possibility that Hinata would probably hate him if they weren’t teammates.

He doesn’t notice that Hinata is staring at him.

“Is something wrong?” Hinata asks him, eyes bright with his discomfiting brand of earnestness.

“N-no,” Kageyama replies automatically, hoping not to betray the odd thoughts that had so recently occupied his brain.

Hinata shakes his head. “You tensed up. I thought maybe you were upset. It’s okay if you are. My room isn’t as cool as yours, and —”

“It’s not that,” Kageyama grunts. “I’m just not used to this.”

“Used to what?”

Kageyama is torn between wanting to hit Hinata for being too dense to read the situation and the desire to unload his weird, festering insecurities on his eager friend. But he doesn’t. “Never mind.”

For a moment, Kageyama thinks that Hinata is going to say something, but instead, he turns away and stares intently at the manga in his hand. The page doesn’t turn, even when Kageyama is sure that even a small child could have read and understood whatever there is on the panels.

Kageyama sighs. This isn’t how this night was supposed to go; they were supposed to do normal teenager stuff because Kageyama doesn’t know how to do these things. The thought of anyone but Hinata knowing that, however, scares him. Tsukishima would mock him, and the senpais would just feel sorry for him.

A hand waves by his eyes, snapping Kageyama out of his contemplation. “Kageyamaaaaaaa, you’re being weird.”

His hand lurches out and grabs a tuft of Hinata’s hair, but the side of his mouth quirks slightly upwards. Perhaps Hinata does understand, after all, so he doesn’t pull as hard as he usually does and ruffles the spot when he is finished. Hinata glares after Kageyama lets go and punches him in the arm, but there is not much force behind the blow.

Slowly, their petty fighting dissolves and they’re both on their knees facing each other. Kageyama’s heart is thudding heavily, and he sees that Hinata is breathing heavily. He sees a _lot_ of Hinata right now. The thousand shades of brown shot through his irises. The way his bottom lip rattles when he exhales heavily.  How his freckles and eyelashes and hair are all the exact same hue. Skin that cannot be as soft as it looks.

Oh.

Kageyama lurches back. “Wh-what are you doing?”

Hinata’s face scrunches before he sits back against the bed, looking towards the other side of the room. More quietly than Kageyama ever thought possible, Hinata says, “I don’t understand you sometimes, Kageyama. I want to, and sometimes, I think you want me to, too.”

The air seized in Kageyama’s lungs. “What are you saying?” he choked.

He desperately hopes that Hinata will humor him and spell it out, because he cannot allow himself to be wrong about this. Every film featuring couples he has ever watched tells him that, if he’s noticing someone’s _eyelashes_ , he’s attracted to that person. Hinata being a boy doesn’t bother him, since he spends a bulk of his time around males because he prefers their company.

But Hinata doesn’t say anything. He merely shakes his head and carefully puts away their forgotten books. Kageyama wants to prompt Hinata to answer him, but he is so afraid to say the wrong thing that he merely gapes as his friend pulls out his English homework and plows through it like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

It’s a foreign experience for Kageyama to wish he had brought homework of his own. Perhaps then he wouldn’t be staring in silence.

Instead of watching Hinata and reminding himself of his own failure, Kageyama decides to drink in his surroundings. Hinata’s room is controlled chaos: clutter everywhere, but stacked in a manner that suggests that the owner at least gave it a passing effort to clean. He wonders whether Hinata did that because his mother made him, or because Kageyama was coming over. The idea that Hinata thinks he needs to impress Kageyama, who has no room to judge when it comes to socialization, off the volleyball court is laughable.

It doesn’t take long to survey Hinata’s room, which is as completely unsurprising as Kageyama had figured it would be. Shortly after that, Kageyama begins to feel the uncomfortable silence grind against his nerves, so he decides to seek out the fastest way to draw Hinata’s attention short of smacking him in the face. With a sly smile, he pushes his fist under the mattress and finds exactly what he expects to find.

Kageyama’s eyes shoot open when he lays eyes on the magazine, just as Hinata tackles him with a shriek.

“Why would you look at that, stupid Kageyama?”

“Because you’re ignoring me and I don’t like it!” Kageyama fires back. He holds the magazine out of Hinata’s grasp as they roll around on the floor, jockeying for dominance over Hinata’s very lewd, very _gay_ porn stash.

Their battle stops when Hinata sags against Kageyama in defeat. Unused to being allowed to win, Kageyama drops the magazine and looks at Hinata in curiosity. “What’s wrong with you?”

Hinata shakes his head. “You probably think I’m gross.”

“What?” Kageyama tilts his head, hoping a different angle helps him understand Hinata’s logic. “Why would I think you’re gross? I think you’re a dumbass, but not gross.”

“Y-you don’t mind?” Hinata stutters.

Kageyama shrugs. “Why would I mind? I like boys, too.”

“So, y-you have one of these, too?” Hinata gasps as he points at the fallen magazine.

“No!” Kageyama spits. “That’s gross. Guys dressed as cats? Really?”

Hinata blushes. “Um, Kenma swiped it from Kuroo for me.”

The mental image of Kuroo reading such filth, coupled by the idea of Kenma distributing it to Hinata is the last straw for Kageyama. He lolls his head between his knees and lets the laugh building in his chest tumble out.

Beside him, Hinata begins to laugh until they are both slumped over each other in mirth. They nearly forget about Hinata’s magazine when the door creaks open for Hinata-san, bearing a box of Hello Panda crackers.

“I thought you boys might want a snack, and these are Shouyou’s  favorite.”

Glaring at his mother, Hinata moans, “Mooooooom!”

Kageyama lashes out a leg and sweeps the magazine under the bed before leaping to his feet to bow. “Thank you, Hinata-san.”

“So polite,” she coos before handing Kageyama the box and slipping out of the room.

He leans against the shut door, his head thumping against the wood as he sighs. “You’re welcome, by the way. Idiot.”

Hinata throws his slipper at Kageyama. “You’re the one who pulled it out! Besides, I thought you said it wasn’t gross. You lied!”

“No, I said _you’re_ not gross. That —” Kageyama points at the spot where he kicked the magazine. “— is gross. Not you. Just . . . gross.”

With a giggle, Hinata shrugs. “Yeah, it’s a little gross. I don’t even want to know how Kuroo-san got it, let alone how Kenma found it.”

Kageyama wants to ask about the conversation Hinata and Kenma had had where the subject had even come up, but he doesn’t. Instead, he sinks onto the guest futon next to Hinata’s bed and tugs on Hinata’s arm. “Come here, dumbass.”

Hinata crawls over to Kageyama and sits next to him. They are shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip, but Kageyama feels like their arms and legs brushing against each other is not enough. He wants to hold Hinata closer to him, but he doesn’t. Instead, he asks, “So, when did you know?”

“Swimming class when I was twelve.” Hinata snorts and glances at Kageyama. “You?”

Kageyama wonders if he should tell Hinata about his first and only foray into romance. How it ended will be obvious the minute he mentions the name, but he beginning is all Hinata is asking. At the moment, Kageyama is inclined to give it to him.

“The first time I was confessed to, it was a boy. I said I didn’t know how to feel that way for anyone, and he asked me to let him kiss me to see if I might enjoy it. It was nice, so we went out for two years.” Kageyama doesn’t realize how much he had wanted to say that to someone—anyone—but his relief is short-lived when he sees that Hinata’s jaw is hanging open. “What?”

“It was at Kitagawa, right?” Kageyama nods. “Which one was it, Turnip-kun or the quiet one that beat us last year at Inter-Highs?”

Kageyama nearly answers the question before he catches the angry twist of Hinata’s mouth. He blinks in surprise. “Are you . . . jealous?”

“I’m angry!” Hinata pushes a fistful of the snacks his mother had brought into his mouth and chews loudly as if his teeth were fists punching the offending party. When he swallows, Hinata says, “If you meant anything to either of them, they would have noticed you changed since then.”

“He has,” Kageyama whispers, more to himself than anyone. “He knows I’m different, and that he’s different. We made our peace after the Spring High.”

Hinata puts a hand on Kageyama’s balled-up fist. “It was Turnip-kun, wasn’t it? He hated you.” Kageyama’s averted gaze seems to be all the affirmation Hinata needs. “Do you still love him?”

Kageyama squeezes his eyes shut because he doesn’t want to look at Hinata when he says, “Yes. Not as much as I did, but I do.”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Hinata huffs next to him. “Do you know why I wanted you to come over?”

“No,” Kageyama says, unsure whether to be interested or terrified of where this is going.

Hinata snorts. “Of course you wouldn’t.” When Kageyama opens his eyes, he sees Hinata rubbing his temples. “I wanted you to like being with me, because I like being with you. Not just during volleyball. Everywhere. All the time.”

The ability to breathe momentarily abandons Kageyama. “You . . . like me?” He desperately hopes Hinata will repeat himself because he doesn’t trust his own ears to get it right. Not this.

“What do you think I’ve been telling you, stupid, stupid Kageyama!” Hinata shouts as he comes to his knees in front of Kageyama and grabs his shirt. “I’ve been trying to hint it to you for six months!”

“I’m not good with hints!” Kageyama growls.

He expects Hinata to fire back, but instead, Hinata flops back on his haunches and hugs his knees. In this position, he looks so small, and Kageyama doesn’t like it. Hinata may be short, but he has always been a giant, and the idea that Kageyama is the one who has made him shrink into himself leaves him with a sour feeling brewing in his belly.

Without a word, he grabs Hinata by the shoulders and knees and hefts him onto the bed. There is a squawk of protest, but it stops when Kageyama lies beside him and wraps an arm around his middle.

“Kageyama, you said you didn’t like me like that.” Hinata pivots his head to look up at him. “You still like Turnip-kun.”

“I do still like Kindaichi, but I never said I don’t like you, or that I didn’t want to.”

It feels strange to Kageyama that it was so easy to say this to Hinata. Everything he knows about romance involves grand gestures and florid proclamations of affection, but this simple little admission feels right to him. No promises, no pressure.

They lay like this for a while, but when Kageyama groans and tries to leave for his own futon, Hinata grabs his arm and murmurs, his voice heavy with sleep. “Can you stay? Please.”

Kageyama’s chest tingles with something indescribable as he settles back into the cocoon of blankets, arms winding around Hinata’s middle. “Okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for the 30 Day Kagehina Challenge Day 15: cuddling.

They don’t mean to, but Kageyama and Hinata fall asleep wrapped around each other. The alarm clock blares 12:04 when Kageyama awakens and realizes the situation, but he doesn’t disentangle himself from Hinata. Partly because he’s warm and comfortable, partly because he just doesn’t want to.

So he settles for examining Hinata under the soft shaft of moonlight creeping in through the curtains. The paleness of Hinata’s skin has an almost ethereal glow, and Kageyama wants to touch it. It’s slightly unnerving, seeing Hinata this way, because he isn’t used to Hinata being quiet.

But as he watches the placidness of his small friend, so in contrast to the slight trickle of drool escaping from the corner of his mouth, Kageyama cannot help the slow burn of contentment brewing inside of him. There is something new and stunning about lying here with Hinata, because nothing is being asked of him or expected. Hinata wants him around, even if their feelings aren’t the same. It only makes him want to fall for Hinata that much more.

Kageyama falls back asleep soon after and is awakened again only by the blaring sun seven hours later.

With a loud yawn, Kageyama disentangles himself from Hinata to head to the bathroom. He barely hears it, but the hum of voices rises up and stops him in his tracks. Mostly because those voices are talking about _him_.

“I’m telling you, Ken, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Hinata’s mother says, presumably talking to her husband. Who Kageyama is about to meet second-hand.

“You saw them together, Hoshi; how is this any different from the last time?” Ken replies. “When he got attached to that Izumi boy, and they just ended up going to schools and Shouyou just kept working out to get over it. The boy needs a _girlfriend_ , not another boy to fantasize about.”

Hoshi gasps. “Ken, it isn’t like you to be prejudiced about that sort of thing, especially when it comes to your son.”

“I’m not prejudiced, Hoshi. I’m being practical.”

Kageyama waits, afraid to breathe and give himself up, but also wanting nothing to do with listening to this conversation. However, his limbs refuse to comply and relieve him from the burden of knowing just how much Hinata’s dad doesn’t want him around. So he listens in silent horror as this conversation wears on.

“Don’t give me that look,” he says. “I just want our son to be happy, and he’s never really going to be happy with a guy, no matter what he thinks.

“What about when he grows up and wants a family? He won’t be able to have any of his own, and adoption agencies in rural prefectures like this one aren’t as friendly towards same-sex couples as they are in the city. He’ll pretend he doesn’t regret it, but he will. Can you imagine Shouyou just accepting that he doesn’t need a family?”

Hoshi sighs. “No. I can’t.”

Kageyama can almost hear Ken nodding in approval. He doesn’t even know what Hinata’s dad looks like, but judging by his mother’s black hair, he is probably a lot like Hinata. Only Hinata would never say anything like this.

Would he?

Kageyama nearly gives into his own burning desire to run out of the house and never come back, but he is stopped both by the fact that he’s in a T-shirt and boxers and because his bladder is burning. Not wanting to listen anymore, despite the impact this will have on his and Hinata’s future relationship, Kageyama slinks to the bathroom as quietly as he can.

His trip passes unnoticed until he is back in Hinata’s room, and his bedmate from the night before is languidly stretching his arms over his head with heavy-lidded eyes.

“Morning, Bakayama,” Hinata yawns. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Stopping the urge to snap that he nearly did by just getting out of bed, Kageyama ignores the question and begins rolling up the unused futon before Hinata realizes that it had not been slept in. “Just had to go to the bathroom,” he says finally, hoping this will cut off any further questions until he is able to process what he had overheard.

Hinata seems to accept this answer and stumbles out of the room to use the bathroom himself. When he is alone, Kageyama hurriedly shoves all of his things back into his bag, including the toothbrush he would rather forego using in favor of quick flight. He is slinging the bag over his shoulder when Hinata walks in

Raising a brow at Kageyama, Hinata asks, “What are you doing?”

“Going home,” Kageyama growls. “This was a sleepover. I slept over. Now I’m going home.”

Yanking on the strap of Kageyama’s bag, Hinata squawks, “Get back here!”

Kageyama ignores the directive and puts his hand on the doorknob. Fifty-two kilos of human cannonball land on his back and drag him down to the floor with a _thump_. “I said get back here!”

“Dumbass Hinata, what are you doing?” Kageyama flails against the limbs wrapped around his upper body but is ensnared in Hinata’s deceptively strong grip. “Let me go!”

Hinata tightens his grip. “Not until you tell me why you’re being weird,” he pants as he combats Kageyama’s struggling.

Too tired to continue this, Kageyama surrenders and slumps into Hinata. “Your dad doesn’t like me.”

His limbs loosening a fraction, Hinata hisses next to Kageyama’s ear. “Why do you say that?”

All the fight sapped from his body, Kageyama recounts the conversation he had overheard and purposely does not look at the change in Hinata’s expression. He feels better expecting the slow realization that Hinata Ken is right and that there is little future in a relationship with Kageyama when they can’t even get married, let alone start a family. Kageyama doesn’t have any particular attachment to reproduction, but Hinata just strikes him as the type of person who does.

Kageyama doesn’t expect Hinata to hit him with the force of a sledgehammer.

“Stupid Kageyama, you weren’t going to tell me, were you?” When Kageyama doesn’t answer, Hinata picks the pillow off of his bed and uses it to wail on Kageyama. “You don’t get to hide stuff like that from me!” Panting from the effort, Hinata’s chest is heaving as he drops the pillow and slumps. “You don’t talk about your feelings; fine, I get it. But you can’t listen to something like that and not tell me.”

“But he’s right!” Kageyama growls, pulling himself to his feet. “How are you going to feel five years from now when you’re done with school and starting your life? When you’re thirty and don’t have a wife and kids? When you don’t get a promotion at work because you’re gay? What then, Hinata!”

Hinata glares at Kageyama. “That stuff doesn’t matter to me!” He flies to his feet, standing toe to toe with Kageyama as if there is not twenty centimeters’ difference between them. With a firm poke to Kageyama’s chest, he says, “And you don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do. Right now, _I_ want to hold your hand and walk with you to breakfast for anyone to see.”

With that, he kicks Kageyama’s bag out of the way of the door and drags his houseguest into the kitchen with an iron grip. “Mom, when’s breakfast done?” he calls cheerily, not even a phantom trace of the iron tone from moments before.

“In a few minutes, Shou-chan!” Hoshi answers, oblivious to the fact that her private conversation with her husband is all but that. “I hope Kageyama-kun likes miso soup.”

Hinata rolls his eyes. “Everyone likes miso soup, mom.” He glances at Kageyama, brows knitted. “You like miso soup, right? I thought you were eating it when Coach took us out to dinner, but —”

Kageyama sees what Hinata is trying to do, and he can’t stop the resulting rush of affection because of it. “Everyone likes miso soup, Hinata. Don’t be an idiot.”

With a ghost of a smile, Kageyama laces his fingers into Hinata’s as they walk into the kitchen, and even as they sit side by side, their hands never part.  Maybe it is selfish, Kageyama thinks, to want Hinata, but one truth did surface during this awkward morning.

Hinata chooses him, and after everything in the past five years, Kageyama can’t think of anything better than that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for the 30 Day Kagehina Challenge Day 21: Hinata tries to be smooth.

If there is an issue with Hinata and Kageyama holding hands at the table, Hoshi and Ken don’t mention it. Instead, Ken introduces himself to Kageyama, with all the expected pleasantries, and it makes Kageyama not want to eat another bite.

The only thing that keeps Kageyama from fleeing the table is the combination of Hinata’s hand on his thigh and Natsu’s constant chatter, which monopolizes the air with inane remarks about her upcoming art week at school and not a crackling, uncomfortable silence. If she keeps it up, he might even be convinced to give her another dozen piggy-back rides as a reward; he doesn’t care how much it makes his back hurt.

Anything but the sly looks shared between Hinata’s parents.

Kageyama excuses himself as soon as politely possible in order to hide in Hinata’s room, but Hinata has other ideas. “Mom, Dad, may we be excused. We’ll start clean-up.”

Hoshi looks ready to deny the request, but Ken chimes in, “Very well, boys.” They share a look, and there is a slight nod from each of the.

When they’re safely in the kitchen, Kageyama hisses, “Now do you believe me?”

“I never said I didn’t,” Hinata answers, picking up a pan more loudly than necessary as he adds. “But I can see why you reacted the way you did. It made _me_ want to run away.”

Kageyama grits his teeth and aggressively scours an iron skillet. “Maybe this is a bad idea. I should just go before I ruin anyone else’s life.”

Hinata slams the pan he is cleaning down in the sink. The entire counter vibrates in reply. “You don’t get to do that to me. I liked you first, so it’s my parents and my problem!”

“Shhh.” Kageyama’s gaze darts to the door to make sure they’re still alone. “Not so loud.”

With a shrug, Hinata huffs. “What’s the point? Everyone already knows. Maybe not Natsu, but at least she’d be on our side.”

Kageyama smacks Hinata in the face with the scrubber. “This isn’t a democracy, stupid. They’re your parents, and until you’re an adult, they’re the only ones who get a vote.”

“Says who?” Hinata says, dishes forgotten as he glares at Kageyama with his hands on his hips. “Well, I say that only I get to choose who my boyfriend is, and I want it to be you, Bakayama! The only one who can say no to me is _you_.”

Blinking, Kageyama struggles to find a response. Did Hinata just say ‘boyfriend?’ In this moment, Kageyama wishes he didn’t have such a crude understanding of people and feelings; he desperately wants to recall where in their earlier conversation either of them mentioned being an item. Are two people dating when they both confess feelings for the other? Does one have to say _the thing_?

“Damn it!” Kageyama growls, rubbing his temples in an effort to prod these confusing thoughts from his aching skull.

Hands cover his and still the rough probing. “Kageyama, stop.” Hinata laces his fingers with Kageyama’s and lets their arms drape to the side. “This isn’t supposed to be hard. I know you don’t get it, but it’s really easy. Do I make you happy?”

The answer is the easiest one that Kageyama has had to produce in hours. “Mostly,” he says with relative confidence.

“And you said you like me?” Hinata raises a brow and Kageyama nods. “And I told you I like you in terms I know you understood. Right?”

“Right.”

“Then we should go out.”

Mathematics, while not a strong subject for Kageyama, is something with few mysterious variables. There is always an answer, even if it’s not a complete one. For every situation, there is an equation to match. Sometimes, the problem is finding the answer to the equation, and others, it’s just finding the equation. Kageyama thinks this might be a situation of doing the latter before even attempting the former.

Hinata making him happy, plus him liking Hinata, plus Hinata liking him equals they should date. Kageyama is the only one between them who has actually dated, and even he doesn’t know what makes up the dating equation; that isn’t the question, however. The question is whether to even try finding out what _x_ is, and that is something Kageyama can see himself wanting to figure out. Not as perplexed by his own mental gymnastics as he thought he would be, Kageyama manages to say a simple, “Okay.”

A squeak comes out of Hinata before his hands close around the back of Kageyama’s neck. Though Kageyama figures he would have to be on the tips of his toes, Hinata presses their mouths together in a short, chaste kiss.

Kageyama forgets that he is supposed to breathe as he looks down at Hinata’s rapidly heating cheeks. He wants to do that again, and again, and then some more. Hinata’s lips aren’t dry or firm, like Kindaichi’s were. Instead, they are like a cherry that has stayed on the tree just long enough to feel and taste perfect. He groans at the thought before turning beet red upon realizing he did that out loud.

Hinata giggles. “It’s kinda cute when you get flustered. Knowing I can do that feels like a super power.”

“Idiot,” Kageyama murmurs without any malice.

“Dummy,” Hinata breathes as he tugs Kageyama’s head down for another kiss.

This one lingers longer than the first, and Kageyama instinctively opens his mouth. He feels Hinata’s surprise but is shocked in turn when a tongue is not his glances against his own. When he realizes what is happening, he groans.

Encouraged by Kageyama’s approval, Hinata hangs more of his weight on Kageyama’s shoulders, giving him greater height and their mouths a closer fit.

However, the dish water dripping from their hands and gravity have other ideas. Hinata leans in even more, standing on the very tips of his slippers, until the slick floor betrays them both. With a loud thud, Kageyama crashes down roughly on his back, head clacking on the linoleum, while Hinata lands astride Kageyama’s lap with their chests pressed together.

“Ow,” Kageyama wheezes.

Hinata frowns at him, but whatever he says is drowned out by a loud, “MOOOOOOOOOOM! Shou-chan and Grumpy Nii-chan are wrestling!”

Unable to scramble off of Kageyama before his mother comes rushing into the room, Hinata settles for wildly flailing his limbs in an effort to make the situation even marginally less embarrassing, though Kageyama thinks this is an impossible endeavor. They are, in a word, doomed.

A gasp comes from the doorway just as Hinata’s hand smashes down on Kageyama’s crotch. Biting his lip to keep from bellowing obscenities, Kageyama roughly shoves Hinata off of him and curls up with his back against the cupboard door and buries his face in his knees so he can pant and tear up unseen.

“Shouyou!” Hoshi cries. “Kageyama-kun is your guest.”

Kageyama hears Hinata mutter a quick, “Sorry, Mom,” followed by a loud shuffle. Thumbs gently brush the hair from Kageyama’s forehead and swipe at the pained tears on his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Kageyama lies.

Even though his entire middle aches and his head hurts from smacking it on the floor and his butt will probably be bruised within minutes of getting up, these do not trouble Kageyama. Physical pain passes, and he is used to it. What his throbbing skull cannot compute is the velvety fire that is burning in his chest, which flared when Hinata touched him so softly. No, he doesn’t understand this feeling at all, and he is not okay.

Hinata extends a hand, and Kageyama takes it. Both of them rise to their feet, and Kageyama finds that he’s unsteady. Hinata darts under his arm and happens to be the exact right size for a crutch.

“Mom, I’m going to take Kageyama to lay down for a bit.”

Hoshi nods vacantly, and Kageyama shoots her a glance, almost daring her to comment on how close he is to her son and to gauge whether she knows what they had been doing to land in such a position in the first place. But when he meets her eyes, she looks away, and that is how he knows that she knows.

With a huff of breath, Kageyama kisses the top of Hinata’s head and leaves the room as if nothing had happened at all.

Minus the aching body and crutch made of a pocket-sized boyfriend, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin.


End file.
